Maki's Lonesome Day
by Hikari3434
Summary: On a certain day of the warm April, Maki Nishikino, had somehow found herself alone as everyone had been avoiding her purposely. What was just going on? But luckily for our tsundere, Nico Yazawa, and her two cute little twin sisters, had come to save the day! Surprises always come when you least expecting it, you know?


**A/N: 19th April, aside from those boring historical events happening today of all past years, what else is happening? Well, of course, it's the birthday of our favorite idol nicknamed True Diva, Maki Nishikino! ^o^ Cheers!**

**Hikari: Happy birthday, Maki! :D**

**All: Happy birthday!**

**Maki: *blushes* T-Thanks…**

**Hikari: Even though it's a bit late, considering that your birthday already happened in Japan last night, but here's my birthday present for you! *points to a huge box not far away***

**Maki: W-Why is it such a big box?**

**Hikari: *grins* Go on, open it!**

**Maki: O-Okay… *begins to open it, and reveals a tied up Nico in red ribbons***

**Nico: …H-Happy birthday...  
**

**Maki: O_O**

**Hikari: How do you like it? I am giving you Nico-nii for your birthday, Maki!**

**Maki: … *face explodes into a huge hue of red as she runs off, covering her face***

**Nico: M-Maki?!**

**Hikari: Ah, she ran away.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Love Live!**

* * *

Maki's Lonesome Day

Today was a rather quiet and… fishy day, as Maki Nishikino had decided herself.

Firstly, it was Rin and Hanayo, her classmates that had provoked her suspicions. It began when she walked into the classroom this morning, stifling a yawn because of all the staying up last night to compose μ's next song, of which said results were not too bad for her expectations. Then naturally, Maki's eyes wandered around to search for her fellow idol mates who were not too hard to spot due to Rin's unique hair color. Fair enough, Hanayo was there with her, wearing anxious expressions on their faces as they huddled together at the corner of the classroom, whispering inaudible words.

_"What are you two doing?" Maki asked as she walked towards them with a slender eyebrow raised._

_The two jumped a bit at the redhead's voice, and turned to face her as if they had just seen a ghost appearing in front of them. Maki's frown then deepened, as Rin stood up and waved her hands dismissively at her, grinning nervously._

_"N-Nothing nya! All is fine, Maki-chan!" Rin said while doing a thumbs-up at the said girl, which only added more to her suspicions. Knowing that the orange-haired athlete was not getting her anywhere, Maki turned and stared at Hanayo, who was playing with her fingers uneasily as she purposely avoided meeting her amethyst gaze._

_"Hanayo…"_

_"E-Eh?! I-It's nothing, Maki-chan…!" The brunette replied, starting to panic as sweat rolled down her ashen cheeks, and Maki knew it was only a matter of time before everything was revealed._

_Ding dong! Ding dong…_

_Then, at the peak of that moment, breaking the tense atmosphere was the school bell ringing, its strong and clear sound vibrating throughout the school grounds, indicating that the morning class had begun. The two childhood friends' expression instantly brightened as they turned to Maki, smiling somehow forcefully._

_"Ahaha, looks like classes have begun! Sorry, Maki-chan but we are heading to our seats now!"_

_"S-Sorry, Maki-chan!"_

_…And sprinted away to their seats, thus leaving Maki in the same exact spot as her face darkened. The redhead then continued to stand there unmoving, until one of her classmates had asked her what was wrong._

But that wasn't all: as the whole day progressed by, Maki had grown certain that her two friends were indeed hiding something from her. Because, while Hanayo was equally focused during classes, the redhead had been quite surprised to catch a few glances from her and Rin, who were busy passing notes to each other during class periods. Rin, too, seemed more energetic and cheery compared to usual. When questioned about it though, the two of them would get those panicked expressions on their faces and deny her quickly.

With one finger tangled in her fiery red hair, the more Maki thought about it, the more confused and flustered she became. What was just going on with those two?

Meanwhile, the other members of μ's seemed to be getting on Maki's nerves, too. The reason behind that was because Honoka, also known as their center and leader, had actually gone out and cancelled the choreography practice that was going to be held afterschool. Her one and only valid reason was "Ehehe, it's just that everyone worked so hard for the Love Live! competition recently, so won't it be nice to have a break once in a while~?"

But, Maki, of course wasn't going to have it.

_"H-Hey! We are up against A-RISE and the other school idols here, you know? There's possibly no break for us to be taking—"_

_"Come on now, Maki-chan, isn't it nice to be taking breaks once in a while?" Nozomi spoke while she shuffled her deck of tarot cards with skilful hands, preparing to do a fortune telling as usual._

_"I think Nozomi and Honoka are right. We can't exhaust ourselves if we are going to aim for the top." Eli said, nodding in agreement as she continued to do the student council paperwork._

_Honoka beamed at her. "Thank you, Eli-chan!"_

_"But…"_

_The other third year, also known as Nico Yazawa, then cut her unspoken protests off with a nonchalant yawn. "Don't be such a worrywart, Maki-chan. It's only for today, you know. Or," she added teasingly, her lips forming a grin. "Are you simply just worrying over us?"_

_Maki grunted; the colour of her cheeks was starting to match her hair. "S-Shut up, Nico-chan!"_

_"You can't get Nico to shut up, Maki-chan!"_

There and there, another one of their seemingly-heated arguments initiated. While the two were intensely devolving into their usual bickering, small smiles were what the other μ's members could only manage as they watched the two.

Although the redhead herself wouldn't really like to admit it, compared to the other eight members, Nico was by far the one who understood her the most, maybe even more so than her own parents. But of course, cutting out the fact that she was constantly annoying her, the third year still understood every little action and reaction Maki had. It was like she knew her since the earliest times, when in reality they had just known each other not long ago.

Despite that, now walking along the school corridors that were deserted, Maki had an incredibly feeling of loneliness as her soft footsteps echoed behind her. After all, it had already been a long time given that the redhead composer had found herself consumed in noisy situations, especially since joining μ's and meeting a certain red-eyed third year.

She was slowly used to not being alone.

Irritated at her feeling of emptiness, Maki then hurriedly excited the school building and started to walk into town. Though, what would she be doing there? Anything would be fine, as Maki decided herself. Because if the redhead did go home now, Maki would have to face a deserted mansion where the both of her parents had gone onto business trips, only to return tomorrow.

The people passing by her then gradually started to increase as Maki walked further into town. Shops and malls were still opened, as various kinds of people, including usually-seen foreigners came in and out through them while carrying several plastic bags as if there was a major discount going on. Moreover, there were also some costume players that were handing out flyers to people who walked by them, smiling professionally.

With no doubt, the atmosphere was lively, and it had somehow cheered Maki up as she brushed away a few strands of red hair from her ear, a genuine small smile playing on her lips. A few stores then caught her attention, and Maki stopped walking. Now that she was in town, she might as well take some detours.

And so, when she was doing some window-shopping along the stores that sold all kinds of cute accessories and decorations, the redhead was seriously considering on buying a music note patterned hairpin when an energetic, familiar voice entered her ears.

"Maki-chan!"

The first year paused, widening her amethyst eyes as her mind blackened a bit at the unexpected call. This was the first time she had ever heard someone calling her outside of the school, so she was pretty much paralyzed. There was another call of her name again, causing Maki to turn around, blinking in uncertainty.

"…Nico-chan?"

At that moment, Maki swore that she almost saw three exact faces of Nico. Now currently occupying each of her two hands, were two smaller children whose appearance was somehow very similar to the third year. The redhead composer wasn't sure of their age, but with their raven-black hair and crimson-red eyes combined, it was like two mini Nicos with different hairstyles.

"What are you doing here, Maki-chan?" Nico asked, grinning as she pulled the two children along to walk closer towards her. "Going around in town?"

"Yeah…" Maki replied, her voice trailing off as she had her attention focused on the younger children before her. They really looked like the third year's sisters, now that she had seen them in a closer view.

Starting with the one on Nico's left; the younger one had her hair tied up in two low ponytails, which somehow reminded Maki of the elder's constant change of hairstyles. The little girl also seemed to be more on the shy side as she hid behind Nico because Maki had her gaze rested on her.

Meanwhile, the other one on Nico's right had a high ponytail, which made her look pretty sporty and playful. Her crimson red eyes, as Maki had noticed, kept going up and down along her figure like the complete opposite of the previous child. And Maki couldn't help but wonder, did Nico often help with them with their hair? Not that it really mattered anyway.

"Well, these two are my twin sisters." Nico explained in a happy tone as she gave the two small pushes towards the first year. "Come on; introduce yourselves, Kokoro, Kokoa. This is Maki Nishikino, the one Onee-chan has told you before."

_Nico-chan has told them about me?_ Maki thought, her face showing astonishment as tints of red dyed her cheeks. "Y-You have sisters, Nico-chan?"

"Yup. Now hurry, you two." Nico said as she ruffled her two younger sisters' hair in encouragement. The two then glanced at each other, nodding as they gripped their small little fists in determination and proceeded to turn to Maki. The redhead blinked, resisting the urge to smile as she tried to keep a straight face.

"I-I am Kokoro...Yazawa."

"My name is Kokoa Yazawa!"

Still keeping a straight face, she nodded. "Nice to meet you, I am Maki Nishikino."

Mouths agape, the two younger Yazawas stared at Maki. They seemed to be held captive by her as Kokoro spoke in a soft voice, her eyes in awe. "Red hair…beautiful."

Kokoa nodded, grinning ear to ear like her elder sister. "Yeah!"

"…T-Thank you." Maki whispered, averting her eyes away from the two. They seemed so… pure and innocent, that she couldn't even find the tiniest lie inside their words. Plus, with the way the both of them were saying that with faces somehow familiar to Nico's…Maki's heartbeat quickened.

"Maki-chan may look mature and cool all the time, but she actually is very childish, Kokoro, Kokoa." Nico spoke as she squinted her eyes at the redhead, grinning teasingly.

"Wh—What are you saying to your sisters, Nico-chan?!"

"Ah?" the two turned back to their sister with blank faces, wordlessly questioning the claim.

The grin on Nico's face widened. "It's true, really! Santa always comes to her house, too!" She exclaimed as she rubbed their heads again, while not forgetting to throw amused looks at the redhead. The third year was clearly teasing her again, and it was like a routine she couldn't live without, as the first year had noticed.

Maki grimaced, trying not to roll her eyes as she bit her lower lip. As much as she wanted to retort back at the third year like usual, this wasn't a good time to be doing so, especially when Kokoro and Kokoa were here. As far as her pride would take her, Maki wouldn't want to leave a bad impression of herself for Nico's twin sisters.

"Really?!"

The twins sounded ecstatic. Without any warnings; the both of them stopped clinging onto Nico and pouched onto Maki instead, gripping onto the hem of her skirt excitedly.

"Ne, ne, Maki-chan! Does Santa really come to your house?"

"Does he really, Maki-chan?"

T-They called me Maki-chan… The first year knew she was blushing, as the rapidly glowing heat on her face was the evidence. Kokora and Kokoa were indeed cute, as Maki realized from the moment she had lay eyes on them. Looks like they had also inherited the same cuteness Nico did…Not that she would admit it in front of the said girl.

"O-Of course he does! He even left me a drawing of him under my house's chimney." Maki replied, pride filling her chest once again as she thought of the masterpiece that she had gotten under her vacation house's chimney.

"Amazing…"

"Does Santa draw well, Maki-chan?"

"I would like to think that he does do well in it."

While Maki was starting to hit it off with her two twin sisters, the third year, who was being left at the sides, couldn't hold back her sly grin and laughter as she covered her mouth with one hand. Oh, how she had a feeling that things will end up this way if Maki had met Kokoro and Kokoa! There was no doubt about it; Nico-Nico-nii was a truly smart idol!

Now, if she could just carry out their carefully arranged plan and make it a flawless success…

"Hey, Maki-chan? Are you here to shop or something?" the third year asked as Kokoro and Kokoa went back to her sides, but still staring at Maki curiously. "If you are, mind going with us? I really need someone to watch over Kokoro and Kokoa."

"Why do I have to…" Maki replied weakly. She was still troubled by today's events.

"Don't be like that! I really need your help, you know?" Nico spoke, gesturing to her two twin sisters that were blinking their eyes cutely at them. "I will be busy buying things later, so what if someone actually tries to kidnap the two of them when I wasn't looking?"

"Then why did you even bring them out in the first place?" Maki asked nonchalantly, crossing her arms as she tried show the not-my-business look. Sure, it would be vexing to take care of two twins while in outside…but what about her parents?

"Because," her playful voice disappeared, replaced by a more solemn tone, "Leaving them at home would be dangerous, too. Don't you know that safety has been a threat recently?"

"…Geez, I know that. Why are you acting so important of all a sudden?"

The first-year replied, sighing. She didn't know why, but Nico was acting awfully out of character today. Maybe it was because she had to take care of her sisters, that she didn't have the time to play around? Even though it was hard to believe, Maki knew that the third-year had a more mature side; it was just that she rarely showed it.

"So? Will you go with us?"

"Eh, is Maki-chan going to go shopping with us, Onee-chan?" Kokoa asked, tugging her small hand on Nico's sleeve. Kokoro followed by looking at her, expression full of anticipation.

"Ah, I don't know, Kokoro, Kokoa." Nico replied in a fake soft, sad tone as she shrugged her shoulders dejectedly. "If Maki-chan doesn't want to go with us, we can't force her, you know."

"Eh~" Their faces fell, and with a brief turn they faced Maki again, two pairs of ruby eyes brimming with unshed tears. "Maki-chan…"

"Ugh…"

Maki flinched, hesitantly taking a step back as the two twins' sad gazes pierced through her chest. She had always been not able to let people down mentally. B-Besides… it was not like she had anything to do, so it might not actually be bad if she went ahead with Nico and her sisters…Though, the kind of expressions Kokoro and Kokoa had on their faces seemed so familiar…

"F-Fine, I'll go with you! B-But it's not like I wanted to, okay Nico-chan? I'm just worried about Kokoro and Kokoa, that's all!"

"Yay!"

And in that instant, the sparkling tears which the twins had in their eyes vanished. They cheered happily and threw their lithe arms up in the air. Everything happened too fast. Seeing that, the first-year paused and widened her eyes once again in shock, realization overcoming her—

"Let's go, Maki-chan~!"

"W-Wait, I…!"

The redhead didn't even have the time to change her mind as the two younger Yazawas grabbed onto her, started to pull her along.

There was a strange glint in Nico's eyes as the end of her lips curled into a sly grin, indicating that Maki had just gotten herself into big, big trouble. "Well then, let's go, Maki-chan."

"N-No! What have you been teaching your sisters, Nico-chan?!"

"Fufu, what do you mean, Maki-chan? Nico-nii hasn't been teaching them anything bad!"

"Yes you have— now let me go—!"

But unfortunately for Maki, all of her cries and protest had been drowned in the lively and loud atmosphere of the town. She then continued to struggle for a while, however gave up eventually as the fact that she couldn't escape from the Yazawas' clutches hit her.

As she watched the first-year being dragged away by her two sisters, Nico Yazawa smirked, took out her hand phone and proceeded to type a message, before pressing the send button.

_ Target caught. Begin the preparations._

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Nishikino Mansion…

"Hey guys, Nico has Maki! We won't have to worry about anything anymore!"

Eli Ayase spoke out in a cheerful tune as she replied to the said girl's message, sending it off with a brief touch. The others, meanwhile, who had been busy running around in the huge house preparing for the redhead's surprise birthday party, let out breaths of relief.

"T-That's good, we can finally do our preparations without worrying that Maki will come back…" Umi said as she wiped off her sweats from working too hard in a hurry. She had her overcoat taken off, and long sleeves rolled up to prevent them from getting in the way of decorating the living room.

Rin placed down all the decorations she had in her arms onto the coffee table and collapsed onto the comfortable-looking couch behind her. Like Umi, she too was drenched in sweat. "Nyaaa…I feel bad for ignoring Maki this morning…"

Hanayo then appeared from the hallway, a part of her face coated with white flour. The brunette was helping Honoka, Nozomi and Kotori to prepare food for the party tonight. "It can't be helped…But I'm sure that Maki-chan will be happy if she comes back later this night." She reasoned, while smiling somehow forcefully as scenes of this morning came flowing back into her mind.

"Really nya…?"

"There's no use sulking about it now, Rin." Umi spoke as she grabbed a few decorations from the coffee table, preparing to get working again. "We have no time, so let's hurry up. Besides," she smiled, tapping the other girl on her forehead with a finger, "If we make this party a success, then I'm sure Maki will forgive you."

Hanayo smiled. "I'll go back to help Honoka-chan, Nozomi-chan and Kotori-chan. We are planning to make Maki-chan's favorite dishes for her surprise birthday party tonight, after all."

Umi nodded at her. "Please do. I'm sure she will be very happy."

"Umm…If Kayo-chin is working this hard, then Rin can't be slacking off, either!" The orange-haired athlete exclaimed all of a sudden as she jumped off from the couch she was lying on. It seemed like she had grained back her energy.

"Let's work hard together." Umi spoke out in a determined voice as she held up a fist. Rin followed by pumping her fists in the air.

"Yosh! Let's work hard!"

The brunette nodded, smiling genuinely at her childhood friend and senpai. Then, she was about to turn back and go to the kitchen when a woman in a maid uniform appeared in front of her. It was one of the maids working for the Nishikino Family.

"I'm glad to see you girls so working hard." The woman spoke, smiling as she looked at the three idols before her. "Are you sure you won't need any help?"

The three of them smiled at her, faces showing extreme gratefulness. If it wasn't for this kind woman here, then they weren't able to get permission from Maki's parents to hold a surprise birthday party for Maki at their house. It was her that had talked Mr. and Mrs. Nishikino into the idea.

"It's fine, but thank you for your concern." The blue archer replied. "We can get this done by our own power."

"I see. Then if there's anything you are having problems with, do not hesitate to call me. After all…" the maid chuckled as she glanced around the room, it was only half decorated, but she would see a big banner hanging above that read 'Happy Birthday, Maki'. "I want the lady to enjoy her birthday as well. My employers were also feeling apologetic for not being able to be here for their daughter's birthday. So as a result, they gave me a word that the both of them wanted her to enjoy this day with you all as much as possible."

"It's fine, really!" Rin spoke, grinning as she held a hand over her chest. "We are gonna give Maki-chan the best birthday ever!"

The older woman nodded. "I see, then I—"

_Crash!_

And all of a sudden, a loud clash emitted from the back, thus shocking the all four people in the living room as they froze on their spots, too stunned to move. Even the seemingly composed and collected maid had her eyes widened, although it was for ever-so-slightly.

Kotori's terrified shriek then pierced into their ears, making them ring. "Honoka-chan, that's not—!"

The second year's sentence was abruptly interrupted again, as there was another clash of cooking equipments banging together.

"Aaah! Kotori-chan, get the wet towel!" The center of their unit's voice was loud and desperate too, while heavy footsteps that go 'thump, thump, thump!' on the wooden floor could be heard clearly from the distance they were sharing.

"No, Honoka-chan! You should turn off the stove first!" Nozomi's voice exclaimed, and strange enough, her tone took on a more high-pitched timbre from usual.

Hanayo looked alarmed, and without even saying anything, she rushed passed the maid into the hall, screaming, "What happened, everyone?!"

"Kayo-chin!" Rin called in bewilderment, following suit behind her childhood friend as they dashed out of the room.

"…I guess we really do need your help, I'm sorry." Umi spoke out after a moment's of silence. She looked somehow troubled and flustered while Eli, who was still holding her phone, sweat dropped and sighed.

The woman smiled amusingly. Just as her lady had mentioned before, these fellow friends of hers are certainly interesting; and she had no doubt, that it was indeed them who had brought smiles onto her young lady's usually bland face. If that was so, then she would not hesitate to help them whenever they needed it, too. "Ah, please do not worry. I will go help them right away." With that the maid took a step back and bowed a little, before exiting the room elegantly as the tail of her uniform fluttered in the air.

Now, with the two only sane ones in the living room, Umi spoke.

"…Let's just hope that Nico succeeds in distracting Maki." It was their only hope for the party to be prepared, after all.

"…Yeah. Let's get to work."

Though, they really wouldn't have to worry that. Do they?

* * *

**A/N: Regarding this chapter, I have added some spoilers from season 2 episode 2, where Maki is still innocently and cutely, believing in Santa. Aww, it looks like our tsundere has such a good papa that does not destroy her dreams but instead, helps them to come true! *_* Somehow, I felt that Maki isn't really as mature as I thought her to be at first... xP  
**

**And, I have added Nico's cute twin sisters to this fic. They are cute, but I am sure that those two are just as sly as their sister! xD Well, that's what I was thinking anyways. I saw a few fanarts about them on a popular site called Pixiv a few days ago, and is inspired to write them as I came upon a cute picture of Maki and those two cuties cuddling together~**

**By the way, I'm alive! Though it's too late to say that lol. I was kinda busy with a lot of things lately, so I have not be very active on this site. ****Gomen! Aside that, if anyone wants to talk with me, well good news! I have opened a twitter account as I am more active there! The username and profile picture is basically same.**

**As always, thanks for reading through this long story and good bye! I hope we will see each other soon.  
**


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